SPORTS BRIEFS

Agencies

Fri, Dec 09, 2011 - Page 18

ICE HOCKEY

Crosby to miss road games

Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby will sit out the next two games as a precaution after taking a hard hit during Monday’s game against the Boston Bruins, the NHL team said on Wednesday. Crosby, who returned to action two weeks ago after missing more than 10 months with post-concussion symptoms, will not accompany the Eastern Conference-leading Penguins on their road trip for games against the Philadelphia Flyers and the New York Islanders. “Sidney took a hard hit during our game against Boston [on] Monday night and wasn’t feeling 100 percent,” Penguins general manager Ray Shero said in a statement. Shero said Crosby, who has 12 points in eight games since returning, met with a doctor and took a test that showed no problems. “However, we all think it’s best that he sits out the next two games as a precaution,” he said.

ICE HOCKEY

Fistric out for three games

Dallas Stars defenseman Mark Fistric has been suspended for three games for charging after leaving his feet to deliver a hit on New York Islanders forward Nino Niederreiter, the NHL said on Wednesday. Early in Saturday’s game, Fistric leveled Niederreiter with a hit to the head that forced the Islanders forward out of the game with a concussion. No penalty was assessed on the play. “While we acknowledge that on many big body checks the hitter’s feet will sometimes come off the ice to a certain degree due to the follow through of the collision, we felt that the degree in which Fistric’s skates come off the ice is evidence of his dangerous launch,” NHL disciplinarian Brendan Shanahan said in a video posted on the league’s Web site.

RUGBY UNION

Player fails doping test

The International Rugby Board (IRB) says one player tested positive for doping during the Rugby World Cup in New Zealand. The player, whose name or team was undisclosed, has been provisionally suspended by the IRB until the outcome of a hearing. The world governing body says the player tested positive for a banned painkiller following a match in the final round of the pool phase. His team failed to progress to the knockout stages. Japan flyhalf Ryohei Yamanaka was banned for two years and Russia prop Evgeny Pronenko for six months for failing doping tests before the Sept. 9 to Oct. 23 tournament. The IRB conducted a total of 216 urine and 76 blood samples during the tournament.

SOCCER

Baptista undergoes surgery

Malaga’s Brazilian striker Julio Baptista underwent surgery on his right foot on Wednesday and he will be out for up to “six to eight weeks,” the Spanish club said. Baptista picked up the injury in August and, having struggled for fitness for three months, eventually decided on surgery. “The Brazilian had a successful operation on his right foot this morning to remove a fragment of bone. Julio Baptista will be out for between six to eight weeks,” a club statement said.

SOCCER

Hansa fans to be locked out

Hansa Rostock have been ordered to play their German second division game against Dynamo Dresden behind closed doors after rioting by their fans, the German Football Federation said on Wednesday. Rostock are scheduled to face Dresden on Dec. 18 in front of empty terraces after violent scenes marred Hansa’s 3-1 home defeat to St Pauli on Nov. 19, when eight police officers and two fans were injured.